>I Told You I Was a Stretch Runner!

>I’ve mentioned a couple times that I was participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year, and November was the big month. After getting behind big time, and coming into the last week with 25,000 words to go, I put the pedal to the metal and pulled it off. A day early even! Here’s what you see when you log that final word count:

I feel pretty good about it, if I may say so myself. The book isn’t actually finished; I figure it is going to top out around 70,000 or 80,000 words — at least that is what I want to keep it to. And there are chapters I’ve written that need some serious reworking, and I have pages of notes of things I need to go back and change or add as the story has evolved, but that is part of the novel writing process. Part of mine, at least.

I went into this particular story with a theme, a couple characters, and an idea for what type of novel it would be. The plot has kind of unfurled itself as I’ve written. It’s been fun, and one hell of a learning experience. I learned I am fully capable of getting my words in while traveling. I learned a couple thousand words a day ain’t no big thing. I learned that when it needs to happen, I can get upwards of 5K and 6K (today I did almost 8K to bring it home) in a day. I also managed to make the gym most of these days, not totally alienate my family (Julia has been working on an equally time consuming project in its final days as well), and not terrorize the pets. Hell, today we took the dogs for a hike and I even cooked dinner. I even found the time to threaten Sid with all the violence it takes to keep him in line. Wins all around!

In the big picture, I know it isn’t that big of a deal. If I’d spent the time I spent on this thing pursuing writing that would actually pay, it might have been better spent. Hell, I have 400 more words to write by noon tomorrow for the Independent that will likely pay me more than this project ever will (about enough to pay for the CDs I’m going to be reviewing), but I don’t care. I created some characters I’ve grown fond of and a story that at least I am having fun with, and that’s enough for me. At least for now. It’s just nice sometimes to set a goal and actually nail the sucker.

>Thanks, April. I don't know if I ever mentioned what it's about. It's kind of a pulp-influenced superhero crime novel. A guy gets recruited by the government to become the first real "superhero" and mayhem ensues. I originally saw it as a means to personally portray vampires as wimps, but here I am 200 pages in and there aren't any goddamn vampires in it.There's a lot of butt kicking and face punching, though. And a scene where our hero sends a motorcycle cop down to the White Castle after a dust-up to get him a bag of sliders. When it wins the Pulitzer — or maybe the Nobel Prize for Literature — you're all invited. :cough: